Boat



C. E. SAUER June 11, 1963 BOAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 11, 1961 FIG! C. E. SAUER June 11, 1963 BOAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 11, 1961 FIG 6 if N 3 W E W WW 1 F fir W4 3,@92,85l Patented June 1 l, 1953 3,092,851 BOAT Charies E. Snuer, Highlwd, 1A., assignor to Alton Box Board Company, Alton, EL, a corporation of Ileiaware Filed Oct. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 144,47il' lil- Ciaims. (CL 9--6) This disclosure is addressed to the manufacture of small boats, which will carry a child or an adult and which resembles apunt or surfboard.

A principal object is to provide a boat that is made from inexpensive foldable board material of the character presently utilized in the container industry. The board may be waterproof corrugated paperboard, or paper-lined polystyrene foam board (Fome-Cor), or any other waterproof board-like sheet material that can be scored or otherwise formed with predetermined fold lines.

In accordance with the disclosure, briefly, a flat foldable board is scored (or otherwise processed) to define a series of foldably connected panels, which form the bottom, sides and top of the boat. By using a foldable board, one avoids the problem of seams below waterlevel, and by shaping the panels properly, one avoids (or minimizes) the need for framework or bracing. A preferred embodiment has a bottom panel of biconcave out line, side panels of biconvex outline hinged to the sides of the bottom panel, and top panels hinged to the side panels along the edges thereof opposite from the bottom panel.

When the side panels are folded upwardly from the bottom panel, the sides assume an inwardly bowed shape and the bottom assumes a downwardly bowed shape. The top panels are folded together and form a top of upwardly bowed configuration. The resulting curved walls provide a considerable degree of rigidity. The ends of the boat are formed by stitching or otherwise securing and sealing together the top and bottom panels at their ends, and the ends may be reinforced with channel-like bumpers of wood. metal or plastic extending across the ends. A cockpit is formed by a hole in the top, and the bottom may be reinforced with a thin sheet of plywood, fiberboard or the like. It will be understood, however, that this design is subject to variations, as will be explained.

Other features will be in part apparent from and in part discussed in the following detail description and the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a boat made in accordance with this disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a vertical longitudinal cross-section of the boat;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a scored sheet from which the boat is made with parts broken away in one corner;

FIG. 4 is a detail perspective view illustrating an alternative construction for an end of the boat;

FIG. 5 is an end view of another type of boat;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a scored sheet showing a different way of making the boat;

FIG. 7 shows a different side shape for a boat;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the blank for the FIG. 7 boat; and

FIG. 9 shows still another side shape for a boat.

The boat is made essentially from a waterproof board of heavy sheet material, which can be readily scored and folded along predetermined curved fold lines. Such sheets are presently available in the packaging or container industry at low cost, and other suitable sheets will no doubt be developed. One such board is corrugated paperboard or solid fiber paperboard impregnated or coated with wax or other waterproofing materials. A particularly suitable sheet is a laminate of paper and polystyrene foam, currently available under the trademark Fome-Cor. This board has paper liners sandwiching the foamed plastic (FIG. 3), and has a rather good waterproof quality. A satisfactory punt-shaped boat eight feet long was made from such a sheet having a thickness of about a quarter of an inch. An improved waterproofing quality may be had by painting or coating the surfaces of the board.

A rectangular sheet measuring eight by six feet was scored (indented) as shown in FIG. 3, along curved lines 1 and 3, thereby to define a central panel 5 of biconcave shape, intermediate panels 7 of biconvex outline, and outer panels 9 of essentially planar-concave shape. The central panel 1 forms the bottom of the boat, the intermediate panels 7 form the sides and the outer panels 9 form the top. The side panels 7 are foldably connected to the bottom panel 5 along its sides, and the top panels 9 are foldably connected to the side panels. The side panels taper to points at their ends 11, hence the top and bottom'panels come together at their ends.

In making the boat, the side panels 7 were folded up from the bottom panel 5, and the top panels 9 were folded inwardly and secured together at their edges 13 by metal stitching 15. The curved shape of the fold lines caused the bottom to assume a downwardly bowed configuration, while the sides bowed inwardly and the top bowed upwardly. The ends 16 of the boat were wider than the center, and its center was thicker than its ends. This shape is highly desirable for reasons of rigidity or strength.

The ends of the boat may be closed in a variety of ways. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the top and bottom panels are in lapping relationship and are secured with metal stitching 17. This will produce a fairly tight joint, but the ends were further sealed with wax.

Referring to FIG. 4, the ends are shown clamped together with a channel-like member 19, which extends the full width of the end and also acts as a bumper. Such a member may be formed of metal, wood, or plastic, and may be secured by glue, staples or other means.

FIG. 5 illustrates another end formation. In this instance, a biconvex plug 21 of wood is fitted between the top and bottom panels at their ends, and the panels are nailed, glued or otherwise secured to the plug. The plug tends to give the top and bottom a side-to-side bowed configuration, supplementing the end-to-end bowed shape.

FIG. 6 illustrates a dififerent layout of the panels, the top panels 23, in this instance, being foldably connected to the ends of the bottom panels 25, which means the top panels must be secured to the side panels, as by adhesive tape.

The shape of the boat may be varied considerably by the shape of the fold lines. FIGS. 7 and 9 show two possible shapes (side elevation) and others will occur. Also, it will be understood the curved fold lines may be a series of straight line segments, and the term curved is intended to encompass such shapes.

FIGS. 13 also show how a cockpit is readily formed by cutting recesses 27 in the top panels. The edges of the cockpit may be reinforced with members 29, and it will generally be desirable to add a floor 31 of thin plywood, fiberboard or similar material, to help sustain the weight of the occupant. Other reinforcement may also be provided for greater durability or strength.

It will be understood, major attractions of such a boat are its low cost, stability and buoyancy. For example, a sheet of the foam laminate measuring six by eight feet would cost less than $1.50. Accordingly, great strength or durability would not be expected. The foam laminate (one quarter inch thick and forty-eight square feet in area) would mean about a cubic foot total foam by volume, and this would be enough to float the boat and an adult, even if the boat springs a leak. Corrugated paperboard with sealed edges or corrugations would also have an inherent buoyancy. Another possibility is the board would be honeycomb of aluminum, paper or the like. These materials are all characterized as three-ply laminates with thin liners and a central core, which is crushed by scoring or indenting, to form fold lines.

Of course, other variations and modifications are pos sible, without departing from the spirit of the disclosure and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is'claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A boat formedof flexible board-like sheet material foldable along predetermined curved fold lines, the boat having a downward bowed bottom panel of biconcave outline and inwardly bowed side panels of convex outline. foldably connected to the sides of the bottom panel.

2. A boat as set forth in clainr 1 further having top panels foldably connected to the side panels to enclose the boat at its ends.

3 A boat as set forth in claim 2, wherein the side panels are of biconvex outline and the top panels are upwardly bowed.

4. A boat as set forth in claim 1 formed of a threeply laminated sheet having a central core portion, which is crushed by lines of indentation to define the curved fold lines.

5. A boat as set forth in claim 4, wherein the laminated sheet has paper liners, which are thin in relation to the central core.

6. A boat as set forth in claim 4, wherein the central core is formed by a foamed plastic.

7. A boat as set forth in claim 1, wherein side and bottom panels are integral with one another along their fold lines.

8. A boat as set forth in claim 7, further having top panels integral with the side panels, the top and bottom panels being sealed to one another at their ends.

, 9. A boat as set forth in claim 8, further including bumpers extending across 'the ends of the boat to protect the edges of the top and bottom panels.

10. A boat as set forth in claim 2, wherein the center portion of the top is open to provide a cockpit, and further including a floor sheet beneath the cockpit overlying the bottom panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A BOAT FORMED OF FLEXIBLE BOARD-LIKE SHEET MATERIAL FOLDABLE ALONG PREDETERMINED CURVED FOLD LINES, THE BOAT HAVING A DOWNWARD BOWED BOTTOM PANEL OF BICONCAVE OUTLINE AND INWARDLY BOWED SIDE PANELS OF CONVEX OUTLINE FOLDABLY CONNECTED TO THE SIDES OF THE BOTTOM PANEL. 